Are You Ready?

You are at the start of a new year with nothing but opportunity waiting to be discovered. You have the ability to create success, change lives and cultivate a new way of thinking in your mind. It is your time for a fresh start in your life, but are you ready to do what it takes to get there? Many people are under the impression that success means having multiple, luxury cars pulled into an 8 car garaged drive way or owning a multi-million dollar company. Some might even say that success is Pastoring a mega-church or working a 6 figure job, but I believe that success looks different to everyone. There is no set blueprint for how success looks or what it means across the board. Think about your success. Is it going back to college and getting your degree, raising healthy and educated children who seek the Lord, landing a promotion on your job, retiring at 65 while living in a 3 bedroom home with a white picket fence and a picture perfect marriage? What is success to you? Once you really decide what you want in order to be successful in your own eyes, you have to decide whether or not you are willing to do what it takes to get there. I enjoy watching documentaries that give an inside look on peoples lives and their perception on the way things work. Specifically in Hollywood, their perception is completely different from anything we assume as viewers of television and movies. Many actors and actresses say that they go into the business young, eager and ready to be a star, only to realize that stardom comes with a price. There are many long hours involved in their work, very little time to socialize, they have to be aware of their surroundings at all times and they are faced with peer pressure from other people in the industry. Some have even confessed to being introduced to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism to coat the stress and fatigue just so they can get the next shot on camera. This is a prime example of the saying, “everything that glitters aint gold.” These actors had an idea of what success looked like and later discovered that it comes with a price. If your idea of success in your life is a good marriage, you must be willing to work at having a good marriage. Nothing and no one is perfect but you grow to learn and understand the importance of togetherness and compromise. If success to you means landing a promotion, you must be willing and able to work long hours, give one hundred and ten percent to your work efforts, take initiative on the job, understand the inner and outer workings of the job you want as well as the company, among other things. In order to get anything, you must be willing to sacrifice something. Nothing comes easy but if you are prepared to do what it takes to work hard and achieve your goals, I believe that you can reach the success you’ve created in your mind. Here are some things to remember as you prepare for success: 1. If you stay ready, you won’t have to get ready. 2. Success comes with a price, make sure it’s one you’re willing to pay. 3. Surround yourself with who you want to be. 4. Your mindset is the key to your opened doors.